Actor scale/pay

reem12

reem12

Veteran
Hey guys i'm about to take the plunge into utilizing a b list talent for a couple of shorts i think may have some festival potential. If there is anyone here that has epeireance in this area I would appreciate any feed back. My questions are as follows:

1. my shorts will be roughly 10 minutes long. actor or actress will shoot a total one 8 hr. day. what should I roughly look to spend on b list talent for an 8 hr day?

2. also, being that more than likely my actor will be SAG, will I half to bring on other sagg extras for extra rolls?

If there is any moderators on board with this experiance please chime in. I need to get a starting point. Thanks everyone in advance for your help.
 
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For feature length productions, you can look into the Indie SAG which is $100 day. I am not sure for shorts. Something to check into. In my productions, if I have a SAG actors, and other are not, I pay them the same.

Michael
 
We shot a 20 min short a year ago and the lead was SAG (not sagg). Cost us $106/day (including workman's comp, etc.). All roles have to be paid at the SAG schedule since our lead was SAG. At least that's how it worked on our Ultra Low Budget short. It really wasn't much of a hassle. Our local rep was great to work with and we handled all the paperwork through PayReel.
 
We have shot SAG projects under the short film agreement and negotiated the pay directly with the actors. If your actor has a name and a long resume, they may not be willing to work for $100/day. So it becomes a question of negotiating what they will accept, versus what you can afford. And not everyone's idea of the "B-list" is the same. Some "B" actors might ask for $10k/day. Some might do it for free. It depends on how much they're working, how well-known their name is, how badly you need them, and if they find the project personally fulfilling.

If you're making a short film, you can use the SAG short film contract which lets you employ both SAG and non-union actors in the same production. It doesn't even specify that you have to pay $100/day; you can negotiate to make all payment totally deferred, if the actor agrees. But you will be subject to the SAG health & pension fund and all that. Going SAG is not a trivial task, and it's not a quick task. You should have a separate legal entity in place (usually an LLC) and have that LLC become a SAG signatory; that's a process that can take a month or two. It's not usually too onerous, but you do have to follow the rules. www.SAGIndie.org is a great place to start for that.
 
Using a payroll company like PayReel is a great way to minimize the hassle on your side. I haven't used that particular company, but I've used payroll services and while it will cost you a little, it will save you a ton of headache.
 
I have used a separate signatory company also (as per Barry). The plus side to that is that it allows you to do your own non-SAG productions. Once you have signed the SAG agreement, you are a SAG signatory and must produce all work through union agreements for the duration of the current cpntract (usually 3 years).
 
Thanks guys so much for the great and informative feed back. This really helps as I move forward.

Thanks snazzy for the word correction, edited post to fix the SAG spelling.

Wasn't aware that if I did a contract I would half to produce my future projects under a SAG agreement. So I guess my question now is, if I want to do a film under my company name could I do it as an LLC and still be able to use the same name for future projects non SAG?
 
Don't forget aside from paying your actors, you have to give them Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner allowances if you aren't feeding them or if they have special needs (vegen, vegetarian).
 
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